I Wayan Gde Yudane

One of Bali’s most outstanding composers, Yudane splits his time between Bali and New Zealand. In Wellington he co-directs Gamelan Taniwha Jaya and teaches Balinese gamelan at the New Zealand School of Music. He has composed for both Gamelan Padhang Moncar and Gamelan Taniwha Jaya.

In Bali, Yudane works with Gamelan Wrdhi Swaram who performed concerts of his new works in Paris and Brussels in December 2017 as part of the Europhalia Arts Festival Indonesia. Included in the programme was his work “Aquifers”, part of which can be seen in the video below and is available on CD.

“The focus of our concerts is on new music for gamelan which steps into structures of music that are linear and asymmetrical, rather than cyclical. As composers, we present our own ideas which can at times be based on traditional Balinese gamelan and at times based on Western traditions of music” - Yudane

Video of live performance of “Aquifers” by Yudane

Yudane’s most recent CD, Water, as well as earlier CDs Sita, Arak are available for purchase from Yudane.

Water (Front Cover)

Water (Back Cover)

Arak

Previous Highlights

In 2007, Yudane toured with the NZ Trio to Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. Their performance of his collaboration with Jack Body received the following review:

Paradise Regained, a work dedicated to the victims of the Bali bombing, is succinct, dramatic and technically ferocious and was beautifully executed by pianist Sarah Watkins and I Wayan Gde Yudane on an Indonesian xylophone-like gangsa.

Rhythmically fevered fragments were exchanged between the players on and off the beat, framed within a mercilessly driving pulse.

The quickfire exchanges and emphatic unison points seemed to represent not only a powerful interaction between two discrete cultures, but also a successful example of fusion.

Review of Encounters II, Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Brisbane, November 22-25 by Gillian Wills, The Australian, November 30, 2007

He has participated in the Wangaratta Jazz Festival in Australia (2001), and in 2002 was Artist-in-Residence at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, supported by a Ford Foundation grant.

Jack Body with Yudane (Photo credit: Gerry Keating, VUW Photography)

Honours and collaborations

His score for the 2000 Adelaide Festival production of The Theft of Sita (in collaboration with Paul Gabrowsky) won the Melbourne Age Critics Award for Creative Excellence and the Helpmann Award for Best Original Music Score.

He has been the recipient of the annual award for the Best Composition (Kreasi Baru) for Balinese Gamelan on nine separate occasions as well as the 1999 Adikara Nugraha Award for the Creator of New Musical Composition, from the Government of Bali.

In Indonesia, he has participated in “Kemah Komponis” (AKI), “Temu Musik September”, Surakarta (1998), and the Bali Millennial Percussion (1999).

In Europe, he has worked with the Temps Fort Theatre, France and Cara Bali Group, Munich and has had works commissioned by La Batie Festival.

Gamelan Wellington

Gamelan Wellington is a music collective that performs
music of Indonesia. They focus mainly on
Central Javanese gamelan and Balinese gong kebyar, but also perform Javanese bamboo angklung, Sumatran talempong and rabab pasisia, and Balinese rindik.

Gamelan Padhang Moncar

Gamelan Padhang Moncar is New Zealand’s first Javanese Gamelan orchestra, founded when instruments were loaned to the Victoria University School of Music in 1976.

Gamelan Taniwha Jaya

Gamelan Taniwha Jaya is New Zealand's premiere Balinese gamelan, established in 2003 when Gareth Farr purchased a set of gong kebyar instruments.

GAMELAN MUSIC

We've released several Gamelan Music CDs which are available off-site. See our range here.

Both Gamelan Wellington ensembles are also available for functions, receptions, conferences, weddings, workshops, concerts and soundtrack work - book us now.